So I am struggling with my beloved plastic boots... I Love them but it is a b#$%# getting them tight every morning in the tent with hands that are starting to freeze in the Alaskan winter. I have two big trips this spring and I am contemplating having two ski buckles installed on the plastic shell to help the situation... Any thoughts or experiance with this?

Lowa made a buckled double plastic boot called the Quantum. Reviewers complained the buckles were too bulky for techinical climbing. The boot did not enjoy a super successful run. If you could find some of the plastic, ratching type buckles that are fairly low profile that might work better. Or what about using 1/2" flat webbing and ladder lock buckles? That would be lower profile yet pretty easy to just yank down tight.

I was looking at my old Scarpa Tambo 2 buckle AT boots when I wrote that. I think the diffculty would center around attching the buckles. They are riveted through the plastic shell and I am not sure the plastic used in climbing boots would be strong enough to hold the large rivets or if it would compromise the durability.

I've been wanting this for a long time now. I had a pair of Quantums. I didn't have any issues with the buckles being too bulky for technical climbing. My problem was with the fit. I think they built those boots on a unique last. The heels were really wide, and there was a lot of heel lift and a very sloppy fit overall. Had they been lasted like the Civetta, and fit like the Civetta, they would have been great boots.

There have been a LOT of advances over the past decade with lightweight buckles in alpine touring boots. I don't know why they can't import some of that know-how into the alpine boot arena.